IVF lottery draws condemnation

7^th July 2011 - The UK's independent regulator for IVF treatment has condemned the decision by a fertility charity to run a lottery with IVF as a prize.

The scheme, which has been dubbed by newspapers as 'win a baby', is reportedly being launched at the end of July by To Hatch, which offers advice on fertility treatment to childless couples.

The To Hatch website carries a link to a lottery, but the page was unavailable at the time of writing. No one from the charity answered our calls or replied to our emails asking for more information, but according to a number of reports, winners can scoop £25,000 worth of tailor-made treatments at one of the UK's top five fertility clinics for the price of a £20 ticket. The prize is also said to include a hotel room and chauffeur-driven transport to a treatment centre.

Wrong and inappropriate

The lottery has drawn criticism from the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) which said "that using IVF as ‘prize’ in a lottery is wrong and entirely inappropriate." The HFEA accused the charity of countering "the ethos that underpins our regulatory system and clinical practice" and said the planned lottery "trivialises what is for many people a central part of their lives".

The statement continued: "We understand and sympathise with those who face the financial burden of treatment which we know from patients can be considerable. We will be in touch with the charity concerned and the centres that seem to be involved to ensure they are aware of our view."

The Gambling Commission said it was aware of the considerable interest surrounding the scheme and confirmed that To Hatch had a licence to run a lottery. However, a spokesman tells us that "the details of what they're doing is up to them".